September in the Rain
September in the Rain is a 1937 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng. Plot One late evening while it's pouring outside, product logos spring to life. First, a bottle of Blueing sings "Am I Blue" as a figure on a can of coffee plays his instrument, causing the Tootsie Tooth Paste begin to dance around like a snake. The light on a can of searchlight begins to move about as many Old Maid Cleanser ladies dance together. A single rubber glove begins to do a Scottish-themed dance. Having to re-inflate himself after so long. The camels on a pack of Carmel Turkish blend cigarettes march together. Then two thistles on bottles of Good Ol' Scotch begin to dance too! Meanwhile, in the fruit, a little worm pops out of an apple in multiple spots, then hops out to investigate and check things out. A few chicks on boxes of My Ami? Powder then proceed to chase after it. One of the chicks manages to get the worm but the worm refuses to give up. Causing the small chick to bounce around and slither until it pops out of the little chicks mouth and quickly hops away and back into an apple. More singing takes place as a river on a box of threaded wheat rains onto the Salt cans beneath it. The girl sings as she holds her umbrella. The boy on the box of Uneedum approaches to sing and dance with her. Then the man on Dream of Wheat (a caricature of Al Jolson) begins to sing and make conversation with Aunt Emma on the can of Pancake Flour. After he finishes, two figures on Domingo and Tarrytown cigarettes dance with one another. Including dancing on top of matchboxes. Nearby two figures on the Gold Rust Twins Washing Powder tell the Biscuit chef to begin playing music. The Strong Arm baking soda arm hits the pan on the box of Kleenex as one of the gold rust twins begin to play the piano on the box of Piano Wax. The other one begins to sing as Aunt Emma begins to dance, soon finishing with a trumpet solo, as it's still raining outside the window. Availability * (1992) LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 4, Side 10, Merrie Melodies * (2006) DVD - Carefree (USA 1995 Turner print, censored) Censorship * Most current TV versions (specifically the ones shown on TBS and TNT in the 1980s and 1990s, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang) edit all scenes featuring black caricatures (the Al Jolson on the Cream of Wheat box singing "September in the Rain" and the entire ending performance of "Nagasaki"), making this a shorter cartoon than usual. The version shown as an extra on the DVD version of the movie Carefree is also censored. Goofs * Two out of five chicks were bright yellow while the others were paler. When they all pounce on the worm they all have pale yellow feathers, they turn back to bright yellow when chasing it. Notes * At a run-time of 5 minutes and 50 seconds (including titles), this is one of the shortest Warner Bros. cartoons ever made (and versions shown on American television and most home media titles have made it shorter due to several scenes of black stereotypes being edited. See "Censorship"). * While the original titles do exist, it is unknown if they will be restored for a future release. * The animation and music in the "Nagasaki" musical sequence would be reused in "Tin Pan Alley Cats", which was directed by Bob Clampett. Gallery Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.34.29.png Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.35.29.png Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.36.39.png Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.38.16.png Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.39.18.png| One of many African-American caricature scenes cut from this short. Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.40.21.png Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.41.26.png Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.42.24.png| Another clip from the oft-censored ending. Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.43.36.png|A final clip from the oft-censored ending Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.47.10.png Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.47.59.png extra0.jpg|Lobby Card dee55d573f0c8bf7a100ee157474dc70.png|Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodie reissue title card. References Category:Hollywood in Cartoons Category:Shorts Category:1937 Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng Category:Blue Ribbon reissues Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Danny Webb Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger Category:Caricatures of real people Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist